§ Mr. SHEPHERDasked the Minister of Health what is the accommodation of the three casual wards that have been closed in Berkshire, at Abingdon, Faringdon, and Hungerford; what are the distances from each of these wards to the next nearest in each direction; and what is the accommodation in each of the latter before and since the closing of the other wards?
§ Mr. GREENWOODIn answer to the first part of my hon. Friend's question, none of the three wards he mentions is at present closed, but the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Joint Vagrancy Committee have applied for my permission to close the wards at Abingdon and have stated their intention to apply at a later date for sanction to the closure of the wards at Faringdon and Hungerford. The 1523W only matter, therefore, before me at present is the closure of the Abingdon wards. The accommodation at Abingdon, which is unsatisfactory, is for 14 casuals. The nearest wards are Oxford, 6 miles to the North, with accommodation for 90; Wallingford, 10½ miles to the South-East, with accommodation for 60; and Wantage, 9 miles to the South-West, with accommodation for 40. I should, however, point out to my hon. Friend that Abingdon does not lie on the direct route between any of these three places. I have no reason to believe that the closure of the Abingdon wards would entail additional pressure at any of these three wards.
§ Mr. SHEPHERDasked the Minister of Health which vagrancy committees have established training centres for casuals or are in course of doing so?
§ Mr. GREENWOODI am not aware that any of the recently constituted joint
Number of persons in receipt of poor relief on Saturday, 25th October, 1930. Average number of persons in receipt of domiciliary relief doing the month of October, 1930. Average weekly amount of relief in money and kind paid during the month of October, 1930, to persons in receipt of domiciliary relief. Institutional Relief. Domiciliary Relief. £ 2,302 8,894 8,824 2,660 The corresponding figures for 1928 and 1929 cannot be given as prior to 1st April, 1930, the figures related to a union area the boundaries of which were not coterminous with those of the county borough.